COMMENT This is an actual experience of mine. I had to apply for a loan with a particular agency.

The office had moved, the signage pointing to the new location was minimal and difficult to locate, the queue-number machine had run out of paper and people were jostling each other for a place at the counter, and when I was finally able to sit down (after being elbowed by a middle-aged woman) merely to ask for paperwork that was strangely unavailable on the website or in the office itself, the clerk left me for half an hour to locate it, was unable to find it, and ended up giving me a copy that had been under their desks the whole time anyway.

All in all, a sadly fairly standard experience.

We as Malaysians are experiencing a new decade of burgeoning technology that encompasses all aspects of life, from online banking to social media. There is an expectation that more and more services will be digitised and take to the web, and those who are unable to adapt will sink into a sea of obsolescence.

This is especially true of the government, which has been taking more and more strides to digitise, though one can hardly discuss e-government without referring to its intrinsic purpose, and that is to be more relevant, current, effective and efficient for citizens, all of which are components of good governance.

However, what exactly is good governance, and why is it important? This article will discuss good governance in more detail and continue with a discussion on e-governance in a follow-up column.

A government also tends to be representative of the political direction a country takes in terms of historical, cultural and legal trajectories. Depending on the form and legitimacy of government, the populace may have direct input on decisions made regarding policies and laws. This decision-making process is called ‘good governance’.

Direct citizen participation in governance on a national scale is especially important as laws govern our collective livelihoods and are a manifestation of our cultural mores. Forms of governments are a profound question of identity, for there are some Muslim countries that reject the idea of democracy, and a majority-Catholic country has laws that are very different from their Communist counterparts, e.g. marriage/divorce laws, unionisation, and abortion, to name a few.

The foundation of a government feeds into other issues such as the basis of law, society and culture. As a result, the type of government we have imparts a sense of investment as we shape our identity around the failures and successes of a government, more so when it comes to elected governments. To have a good government, one must first look to good governance.

Process, rather than outcome

Good governance refers to the process, rather than the outcome, of making and implementing decisions. It focuses more on the way decisions are made rather than the decisions themselves, which makes sense, particularly in the case of democracies whereby there will usually be dissent against a majority decision. Nevertheless, legitimate decisions, regardless of popularity, fall under the umbrella of good governance.

Broadly speaking, good governance is accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, effective and efficient, participatory and follows the rule of law. Despite its name, good governance need not be limited to the running of a country. Companies, academia and other similar institutions that have decision-making mechanisms are also privy to good governance.

Decisions that are made transparently and inclusively are not just altogether more legitimate, but they also have effects that move beyond the sphere of decision-making. The most obvious impact good governance in these terms is increasing community support and trust.

It goes without saying that communities that have more interaction with the way their environment is shaped will be more confident of those decisions. They will also feel more valued as a citizen, whose input was used in making a decision. This enforces the sense of community and strengthens the sentiment that people are looking out for each other.

A sense of community is not something to be underestimated - isolation and alienation is an important factor in the formulation of anti-social behaviour. This is true for adults as well as children, and the problems that arise from alienation are just as exacerbated the older one gets.

Never mind drug abuse, depression and delinquency, adults who feel out of sync with their community may turn to extreme alternatives to achieve a sense of belonging, be they religious cults or extremist groups. Some may even choose to lash out at a community that is unable to accept them and indulge in destructive behaviour.

I speak, of course, of the worst-case scenarios. However, they are not totally inconceivable situations. It takes very little to turn a group of dissonant and unhappy people against the greater community if there is a sense that there is nothing more for them to lose. It is this feeling that governments and communities must work to prevent so that these individuals find that they do indeed have a stake in society and that it is something to protect, rather than destroy.

Good governance is not the be-all and end-all of alienation, but it is an important component in the first attempts to curb anti-social sentiments. Good governance makes a statement, first and foremost, that it is not enough for the government to just exist; it must strive to be the best it can possibly be and put people first. By prioritising people, it seeks to be more inclusive and attempt to solve issues that arise and evolve with the changing times.

Secondly, it is trying to be a best practice, through decision-making that is fair and completely transparent. This strengthens ethics and morality, which in turn will embolden a community to make practicing these values the norm.

Finally, it instils a sense of pride and empathy for a system that regularly engages with the people. Inevitably, any institution will face accidents or hiccoughs, and if the people are aware of these problems and understand that they arise not from incompetence or a failure to deliver the best at all times, but from external or unforeseeable circumstances, their sentiments will be far more sympathetic and patient.

And surely that is something that is needed in these fast-paced and high-tech times.

HANA SHAZWIN AZIZAN is a research consultant at the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF).